


Do You Believe in Spirits?

by martiansourcream



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, Josh is not a ghost, M/M, Magic, Nature, Tyler is 16, all my sons references, he is the spirit of the woods, josh is 17, sick as frick is used a lot, sort of, the forest - Freeform, this is a fairy tale, this is a whole different thing altogether
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-10
Updated: 2017-02-20
Packaged: 2018-09-07 13:16:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8802265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/martiansourcream/pseuds/martiansourcream
Summary: Tyler's summer holidays seem ruined. All he wanted was to spend them at his hometown, with his friends. However, his parents sent him to his grandma's place. Just imagine: two months of being stuck in a small village by a forest, with nobody but old people and little kids for company. Seems hopeless and boring, does it?Little did Tyler know that not everything is so simple about the village, and especially the forest.





	1. Part 1 Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is based on an idea that randomly popped into my head. Tyler's red beanie and Little Red Riding Hood might also have been an inspiration.  
> Everything in the story is purely fictional, none of these events actually happened.  
> This is not the forest fic, nor is it going to be anything like it.  
> Anyway, I hope you like it :)
> 
> Disclaimer (just in case): Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun belong to themselves. Only the story belongs to me.

\--- **_Ohio Daily News, 06-18-1999_** \---

_PLANE CRASHES NEAR THE FOREST_

_A small plane flying from Florida to Michigan crashed on the eastern border of Ohio tonight. The accident took the lives of fourteen people, out of twenty one that were on the plane. Among them were the Duns, two of the most well-known business people in the eastern states._

_It is unknown what happened to their six-months-old son, Joshua. His body wasn't found anywhere near the crash, nor was he with the survivors. It is likely that he crawled into the forest, where he was eaten or killed by wild animals._

_At the moment, the six survivors are being taken care of, and soon they will return to their daily lives._

_Stay safe._

\--- --- ---

***

**Seventeen years later**

 

It was a beautiful summer day. The midday sun was shining brightly, making everything look beautiful. Its rays played in the soft green grass, and in the leaves of the trees. There were clouds in the sky, but they were white and looked like large flocks of cotton candy. Everything was resembling joy. Any person who walked outside on a day like this would cheer up.

Except for Tyler.

As he got out of the bus and set his feet onto the ground, he did not feel happy at all.

Every summer holidays, he stayed at his hometown with most of his friends, and they had fun together. They went to amusement parks, stayed over at each other's houses, or just hanged out in the warm weather. They ate ice cream, played and listened to music, chatted and enjoyed the beautiful days of summer freedom.

But this summer, it won't be like this. This summer, his parents decided that he should "get some fresh air" and sent him to a small village on the edge of Ohio, where his grandma lived. Tyler protested, of course. He had practically told his parents a whole persuasive essay with at least ten arguments in favour of him staying at home. However, it was dismissed, and Tyler was put into a bus and sent away to God knows where.

And there he was now, walking down a street, a sport bag in one hand and a case with ukulele on his shoulder. He passed a row of small cottages. In the front yards, Tyler saw either aged people or small children, and not a single person about his age.

Tyler sighed. This summer was going to be very boring, for sure.

***

"Ohh, Tyler! I haven't seen you in ages!"

Tyler's grandma hugged him tightly just as he walked into the front yard.

"You've grown so much!" she said, finally letting him go.

Tyler forced on a smile for her. After all, it wasn't her fault that he was stuck here.

"And you still haven't stopped wearing that beanie!" grandma smiled.

"Come on, grandma. I like it," Tyler said, pulling lightly at the edge of his red beanie. It was his favourite one, and he wore it all year around, regardless of the weather. It was a miracle that it was still suitable for wearing.

"Well, I see, I see. Now, come, I will show you your room."

***

Tyler unpacked his stuff in a small room. It wasn't much: a desk, a bed, and a chest of drawers. However, this was where he was going to spend the next two months, so he had to be happy with what he had.

Tyler fell down onto the bed. He sighed, wishing he was at home now, with his friends.

He stayed there until grandma called him for lunch.

***

 

Later that day, grandma asked Tyler if he would mind going to the edge of the forest to pick some berries for the blueberry pie that she was going to make later.

"Maybe it's better to just buy berries?" Tyler wondered.

"The ones that grow by the forest taste much better," grandma said.

"Well, alright then."

Tyler took a bowl from the kitchen counter and set off to go.

"Don't go far into the woods, you might get lost," grandma reminded him.

"I won't, I promise," Tyler nodded, and walked out of the house.

***

And this is how Tyler found himself ten minutes later, picking blueberries from a bush. It was a hot sunny afternoon. Tyler moved a little deeper into the forest, hoping that the shade of the trees would cool him down. However, it helped little.

Tyler went deeper still, picking berries and thinking about many different things. Eventually, he filled the bowl and decided that it was time to go back to the house. 

However, it wasn't as easy as he imagined. He realized that he couldn't recognize his surroundings and had no idea where to go. 

Tyler began to panic. He hadn't been in a forest for a long time, let alone got lost in one.

He took a deep breath.

"OK, calm down, Tyler. It's just a small forest. You are not a child," he told himself.

Tyler sat down onto the ground by a tree, thinking about how he is supposed to find his way back. What a shame that he left his phone at the house. Google Maps would be very helpful right now.

Tyler's thoughts were interrupted by somebody's voice.

"What's wrong? Can I help you?"

Tyler raised his head, and saw a boy standing in front of him. He looked about Tyler's age, and his eyes and his hair were bright green. That didn't surprise Tyler: even some people from his school dyed their hair in crazy colours. It was the boy's clothes that made him look so strange in Tyler's eyes. It seemed like his T-shirt was made of leaves, and his shorts were made from bark-like material. What's more, he was barefoot. Who the hell walks in the forest with bare feet?

"I got lost," Tyler said. "Can you help me to find my way?"

"Yes, I can. Where do you need to go?" the boy asked, eyeing Tyler with curiosity. 

"To the village. Aren't you from the village?" Tyler raised an eyebrow.

"No, I'm not. I live in the forest," the boy told him.

"Well... alright," Tyler nodded. Were there people who lived in this forest?

"So... would you like to take the short way, or the long way?" the boy asked.

"What, there is more than one way?"

"Yes, of course. There are many ways, actually. Most of them go right through the woods, but there is one man-made path."

"I will take the path, thanks," Tyler answered. Better safe than sorry.

"OK. Follow me," the boy smiled at him and started to walk right through the trees.

Tyler followed him, but it wasn't easy at all. The boy walked very quickly, as if he knew the way by heart. He didn't even try not to step on the twigs and fallen branches. For some reason, they didn't snap under his feet, or hurt them. If Tyler tried to repeat the experiment of walking barefoot through the forest, he would end up with very damaged feet. The boy, however, seemed completely unharmed. 

"How do you do it?" Tyler asked once they reached the path.

"Do what?" the boy looked at him with surprise.

"Walk barefoot and not hurt your feet."

"Nothing in the forest can harm me in any way," the boy smiled, and kept walking.

Tyler's curiosity grew. There was something very unusual about this boy. Was he a part of... a tribe, perhaps? Or was he somebody like Mowgli? It didn't look like it, though: he could speak like any other person Tyler knew. If he was actually "wild", he wouldn't be able to talk, right?

Tyler decided to find out more about this boy. Maybe not today, but eventually, during the summer. He had plenty of time to spare, anyway.

They walked on and on, and eventually came to the edge of the forest, where Tyler picked berries earlier today. He could even see his grandma's house from here.

"Well, here we are," the boy said. "It was nice to meet you, um... what's your name?"

"Tyler," Tyler said. "And what's yours?"

"Josh," the boy told him.

"Well... see you later, Josh?"

"Yeah. Bye, Tyler."

And with that, Josh was gone.

Tyler began to walk back to his house, thinking about everything that has just happened. Perhaps he should ask his grandma if there were, by any chance, some boys with green hair who lived in the woods and were named Josh.

***

That night, Tyler was sitting on his bed, lost in thought. When earlier that evening he was having dinner of blueberry pie (which tasted much, much better than any blueberry pie he ate at his hometown), he did actually ask his grandma if anyone lived in the woods. She said "no, as far as I know".

Then who was that boy he met today? And how does he know the forest so well? Why weren't his feet hurt by the twigs? What other things could he do?

The only way to find the answer, Tyler decided, was to get to know Josh better. Tomorrow, he will go to the forest again and try to find him. This is what he is going to do during the holidays: try and work out what Josh's secret was.

Tyler switched the light off and got under the covers. He had stuff to do tomorrow morning, so the best thing for now was to go to sleep.


	2. Part 1 Chapter 2

It was the break of dawn, and Tyler was already outside, walking towards the forest. In order not to get lost this time (what if no Joshes arrive? He didn't want to stay in the woods for eternity), he took his mobile phone with him.

Tyler cautiously stepped into the forest. It wasn't as hot as it was yesterday. In fact, the morning was pleasant and cool. The grass was slightly wet, and pale sun shone through the branches of the trees. Light wind blew gently over Tyler's face. He took a deep breath, and his lungs filled with fresh air, which was slightly crisp and had that amazing smell to it, in a way that summer forests smell. Tyler smiled, and followed yesterday's path, accompanied by the joyful chirping of local birds.

Tyler saw something in a distance, sitting on a path. He squinted slightly and realized that it was a rabbit. Tyler walked closer and closer to it, but it didn't seem to flinch. It was just staring at Tyler.

The boy could see that the rabbit had brownish-black fur, with white spots here and there. One of the rabbit's ears was slightly bent to the side. Tyler thought that there was something unusual about the creature, something that he couldn't quite place.

He decided to take a photo of it, and send it to his sister. She loved rabbits. She loved all the animals, to be completely honest.

Tyler took his phone out and clicked the camera icon. However, just as he was about to press the button and take a photo, the rabbit set off running.

"Hey, wait!" Tyler shouted. He pushed his phone into his pocket and ran after the rabbit. 

The animal hopped straight up the path, and then took a sharp turn left, into the woods. Tyler followed it. It wasn't easy, running through the forest. The rabbit, of course, didn't have much difficulty jumping over branches, twigs and other obstacles. Tyler, however, wasn't skillful enough. He was so engaged in chasing the rabbit that he forgot to be careful and look under his feet. After a while, he tripped over a branch and fell down.

"Ow!" Tyler yelped in pain. His knee was hurting like mad.

Tyler sat up and took a look at his knee. It was scratched and bleeding. Tyler pressed his hand against a tree, and, supporting himself that way, slowly got up.

He winced and took a look around. He expected the wretched rabbit to be long gone; it had plenty of time to escape while Tyler was falling and getting himself back up.

However, to his surprise, the rabbit was sitting nearby, staring at Tyler with its huge black eyes.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Tyler shouted at the creature.

The rabbit cocked its head to the side slightly, but said nothing. If rabbits could shrug, Tyler thought, this one would definitely shrug in response.

Tyler raised an eyebrow at it. Something was weird about this rabbit, he was sure of that.

"OK," he tried. "I will follow you. Just go slower, okay? I hurt my knee, you see."

The rabbit turned around and hopped on, but slowly this time. Tyler went after it, limping and wincing from the stinging pain in his knee.

"Boys in plant clothes who walk barefoot on sharp twigs. Rabbits that run away from you, then, for some reason, wait for you and can understand human speech. What the hell is going on in this forest?" Tyler thought.

***

Eventually, the rabbit led him to the edge of a steep earthy cliff.

"You are not going to make me jump from it, are you?" Tyler asked, half-humorously, half-scared.

The rabbit looked at him like he was stupid.

Tyler looked down from the cliff. About a meter and a half downwards, there was a circular clearing. It was covered in high green grass, and there were flowers here and there. A creek ran through the clearing, and its water glimmered in the rays of sun. By the creek sat a boy with bright green hair, just a few shades darker than the grass. A bird was sitting on his head, and he was holding another bird on his palm, and there was a rabbit next to him, a white one with red eyes.

The boy was Josh, of course.

Tyler felt something push at his leg.

"What the..." he looked down and saw that the rabbit was pushing him with its paw.

"What do you want?" Tyler asked the creature.

The rabbit turned around and began hopping along the edge of the cliff, following a side path which lead downwards, to the clearing. As Tyler walked after the animal, he saw that there was a huge fallen tree pressed into the steep side of the cliff. The tree was broken in half at an angle, and between its two halves there was a door made of thin branches. It probably led to the inside of the cliff.

"Is this where Josh lives?" Tyler wondered. "In this clearing, inside the cliff?"

Once they were all the way down, the rabbit abandoned Tyler completely and ran straight to Josh. He smiled at the creature, gently stroking its dark brown fur.

"Hi Tyler," Josh raised his head. The birds, both on Josh's head and on his hand, turned to look at Tyler.

"Hey Josh," Tyler smiled awkwardly. Why did the rabbit lead him here? Was it a coincidence?

"Um... your rabbit. It led me here," he said.

"She," Josh corrected him. "Yes, she led you here because I asked her to."

"You asked her to?" Tyler raised an eyebrow.

"Yes." Josh nodded, smiling. "We don't want you to get lost again, right?"

"Yeah..." Tyler ran a hand through his hair, slightly surprised. He took a step towards Josh and winced as he felt another pang of pain in his knee. He forgot about it, for some reason.

"What's wrong?" Josh asked with concern, smile vanishing from his face.

"Nothing," Tyler shrugged. "I just fell down and hurt my knee."

"That's not "nothing". I will help you," Josh said in a firm tone. 

He got up, much to the protest of the birds.

"I will go to my house and fetch some herbs. Stay here, Oreo will look after you," he said.

"Oreo?" Tyler raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. The rabbit, she's named Oreo."

Tyler was still confused.

"She is very dark brown, with white spots. Just like oreos: they are dark brown with white cream in between," Josh explained.

"That I get," Tyler nodded. He could definitely see why the rabbit could have been named Oreo. What he didn't get was: Josh seemed to be pretty distant from the civilization. How did he know about oreos?

"Can I see your house instead?" Tyler asked.

"But you are hurt," Josh said.

"Not that much. I can walk a couple of meters," Tyler objected.

"Well... alright, come with me," Josh nodded.

He went to the door in the cliff and opened it. Josh walked inside, and Tyler stopped in the doorway, looking around the house.

It consisted of one room. The floor and the ceiling were made of hard earth. The latter was held by tree roots, and small bundles of dried herbs were tied to some of them. There wasn't any furniture; the closest thing to it was a large sort of platform made of thin tree branches. On it there lied herbs, and dried berries. In the corner of the room there was a huge pile of leaves.

As Tyler stood at the door, observing the room, Josh moved to the platform and picked some herbs from it. He crushed them in his hands until they turned to powder.

"Sit down onto the leaves," Josh told Tyler. Tyler did as he was told.

"Why do you have leaves in your house?" he asked.

"I sleep on them," Josh explained.

He sat down by Tyler and put some of the powder onto his injured knee. Then, he walked outside and came back with a large leaf of a plant. Josh pressed it to Tyler's wound and gently touched the edges of the leaf with his fingertips. Tyler experienced a weird sensation, like the leaf had grown into his skin.

"What have you done?" Tyler asked, slightly worried.

"These will help to heal your injury," Josh smiled. "And also, fresh air will. Come outside with me."

***

Tyler and Josh were sitting by the creek. It was hot and sunny again, and Tyler took off his sneakers and put his feet into the cool water. He let it run pleasantly over his toes, providing a very nice relief in this hot weather.

Josh was sitting right next to Tyler. He was petting Oreo the rabbit, which huddled close to Josh and pressed herself against him.

This reminded Tyler about his oreo question.

"How do you know about oreos?" Tyler asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You live in the forest," Tyler made a gesture with his hand, trying to explain. "There are no oreos in the forest."

"Well, one day, a family had a picnic in the forest. And the children were eating this strange food, which they called "oreos". I was very curious and wanted to try what they tasted like. So, I took several when no one was looking," Josh told him.

"And... did you like them?"

"Oh," Josh smiled and closed his eyes at the memory. "It was the best thing I've ever tasted. But sadly, I've never had any since then."

"Oh. Oh, I see," Tyler nodded.

"What other things do people eat?" Josh asked him, turning his head to look at Tyler with his bright green eyes.

"Well..." Tyler knew many kinds of foods, of course. But now that Josh asked, they all had disappeared from his head. "Um. There are many of them."

"Like what? Are they all like oreos?"

"No, not at all," Tyler laughed and shook his head. "They are all different. There are sweet things, for sure. Chocolate, cookies, cakes - that stuff. And there are salty foods which also taste good: sandwiches, pizza, tacos - I love tacos. Some things are not that delicious: soups, porridge, that stuff. And then there are bananas."

"Bananas?" Josh raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Tyler made a disgusted face. "The fruits of the devil, mark my word. Here's a tip: if you ever see a yellow bent long thingy, don't try to eat it, OK?"

"I won't," Josh nodded. "Are they poisonous?"

"Not actually," Tyler shrugged. "I just hate them."

"Oh, okay."

"And what do you usually eat?" Tyler wondered.

"Berries. Nuts. Mushrooms, sometimes," Josh smiled. "It's lunch time soon, by the way. If your knee is feeling better, you can go and have lunch with me."

"I'm fine. I will come with you," Tyler said, and got up. 

***

They spent the following hour in the forest, picking berries and nuts. Josh climbed up a tree to gather pecan nuts. Tyler would have gladly climbed up with Josh; climbing was totally Tyler's thing. However, Josh prohibited him from doing it today ("You are _hurt_ , Tyler!"), so instead he picked blackberries for him and Josh. There were plenty of blackberry bushes nearby, and Tyler took off his T-shirt and folded it to use it as something to put the berries in.

Then Josh climbed down with his hands full of nuts. He put them into Tyler's folded shirt, and they went back to the clearing. The two of them sat down by the creek again, and Tyler put his shirt flat onto the grass. They sat like that, eating nuts and berries that lied on the garment. Tyler thought that even though it was one of the most unusual lunches he's ever had, it was one of the most interesting, too. 

Afterwards, Tyler and Josh lied on the soft grass on their backs, looking up at the sky. Large, fluffy, snow-white clouds were drifting slowly high above them, and everything looked and felt so calm and peaceful.

Tyler caught himself thinking that he could lay like this forever.

***

"Well, let's check your knee," Josh said, taking off the leaf. 

Tyler looked down at his legs. To his surprise, the wound was gone without a trace left.

"How did you do that?" Tyler asked, once again.

"Nature heals all," Josh smiled.

Tyler remembered that he had intentions to ask Josh how he could do all these things, and why he lived in the forest, alone. However, it seemed like Josh himself didn't know. That was just the way he was.

Tyler checked his phone and realized that it was almost 4 pm.

"Oh, I think I should go, or my grandma will be worried," he sighed.

"Oh. Alright," Josh nodded. "Would you like me to show you the way back?"

"Yeah, sure," Tyler smiled.

***

They walked together - actually together this time, not with Josh at the front and Tyler at the back.

"Why do you live in the forest, alone?" Tyler tried asking.

"Where else should I live? I was born here, I've lived here all my life," Josh told him, looking confused.

"But where are your parents?"

"The forest is my parent," Josh said simply.

"Okay," Tyler nodded. Perhaps, he should try searching the Internet for answers, instead. As the saying goes, "Google knows it all". Probably it knows something about the boy walking by his side, too.

They reached the edge of the forest, just like the day before.

"Well, here we are," Josh said. "See you tomorrow?"

He looked at Tyler with hope in his eyes.

"Yeah," Tyler nodded. He looked at Josh, and couldn't help but admire the way his hair looked. It was so green and fluffy, and reminded him of grass. He wouldn't be surprised if flowers started to grow on Josh's head.

They said their goodbyes, and Tyler walked back to his grandma's house. His shirt smelled of nuts and berries, and his mind was full of the forest, and the curious, unusual boy who lived in it.


	3. Part 1 Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, everyone :) Sorry for not updating in ages. I was on holidays with my family and didn't have much time to write. I will try to post chapters more frequently now.

Tyler was lying in bed with his phone in his hand. Now that no one could disturb him, he decided to search the Internet for the answers to the questions that were filling his mind.

Tyler pressed the Google search icon and typed: "Miller forest".

The first link was "The USA forest database". Tyler clicked it and began to read:

" _Miller forest is located on the eastern border of Ohio. It is quite small. The most common trees are birches and oaks, though pecan trees also grow there. There are plenty of berries in the forest. Animal species that inhabit the area include rabbits and small birds._

 _The forest is situated near the Miller village._ "

Not the information he is looking for, Tyler decided. He should be more specific.

He put in: "Miller forest supernatural".

 _No results found_.

Tyler raised an eyebrow. Well, he didn't expect the research to be easy. He kept trying.

"Miller forest unusual".

" _...there has been an unusual amount of precipitation in Miller forest in 2010..._ "

"Miller forest Josh".

 _No results found_.

Tyler sighed. Yes, he didn't expect it to be easy, that's right. But easier than that.

Perhaps it was a local mystery, such a small one that it wasn't important enough for the Internet. That will require a deeper research. Meanwhile, he will keep getting to know Josh better.

Tyler put his phone aside and turned to face the wall and sleep.

***

The next day, during breakfast, Tyler's grandma told him that she is going grocery shopping today, and asked if he would like to go with her. Tyler said yes. Having spent the first two days in the forest, he didn't have time to explore the village. Not that he thought there was actually much to see, but still. Perhaps there was.

"I will go to the forest in the evening," Tyler decided.

***

Since Tyler's grandma's house was on the very edge of the village, the grocery store was quite a distance away. As he and grandma walked down a road, Tyler looked around.

The village wasn't big. Most houses were one- or two-story cottages, like the ones Tyler saw on this first day here, like the one where his grandma lived. They were neat and as common as any other houses. Nothing unusual, nothing peculiar.

Only one cottage caught Tyler's eye. It wasn't very beautiful, nor was it appealing in any way. The house was, in fact, small and quite shaggy, and the front lawn looked like it hasn't been mowed in years. On the front porch sat a man in his forties. He was staring into distance with blank, unseeing eyes, and there was an old pilot's hat on his head. The inhabitant of the cottage looked very fitting for the cottage itself, but actually didn't fit in with all the plain pretty houses that stood by. Tyler wondered if it was another mystery of this place.

"Who is this man?" he asked his grandma.

"Chris Keller," she answered with a sigh. "He is strange, but who are we to blame him. Poor man."

"What happened to him?" Tyler raised an eyebrow.

"He used to be a pilot a long time ago, but his plane crashed. Fourteen people died, and he blames himself for the tragedy," grandma said.

"Was it actually his fault?"

"No. It was a mechanical failure," grandma told him with sadness in her voice. "He doesn't believe it though."

Tyler nodded slowly. He felt strong compassion towards the pilot, and wished he could help him in some way. 

***

The grocery store was like any other small grocery store one can encounter in a village. While his grandma was buying vegetables and bread, Tyler went to get some of his favourite cereal and Coke. He preferred energy drinks but his grandma was strongly against those, believing that they were bad for his health.

Tyler walked past the shelf with biscuits, his eyes skimming through the packs. Perhaps there was something there to his liking...

Then, one of the packs caught Tyler's eye.

"Oreo Biscuits: Original Taste".

This reminded him immediately of Josh. Tyler remembered that Oreos were Josh's favourite food that he only ate once in his life. While Josh had absolutely no Oreos in the forest (except for Oreo the rabbit, but that was a completely different case), Tyler could buy them in any store. During the two days Tyler had known Josh, he helped him twice already, so it would only be right if Tyler brought him his favourite food. 

So, Tyler grabbed a pack of cookies and went to the check-out with his grandma.

***

Oreo the rabbit met Tyler on the path once again. She stared at him with suspicion.

"Don't look at me like that!" Tyler snorted, following the rabbit down into the forest. This time he was careful not to trip over anything, so he got to Josh's clearing unharmed.

Tyler found Josh sitting on the grass, holding his hand close to the ground but not touching it. Tyler could see flowers growing and blossoming slowly right under Josh's hands.

Tyler's mouth fell open. Like, it's one thing to be able to stay unharmed while walking barefoot and cure wounds with plant leaves. These were unusual skills, but not _super_ impossible. But.. making plants grow with your own hands?

"How is that even possible?!" Tyler exclaimed.

Josh turned his head quickly. He looked quite surprised.

"Hi, Tyler," he said.

"Yeah. Hi Josh," Tyler nodded. "But still... how?"

"It's simple!" Josh smiled. "Come sit by and have a look."

Tyler sat down onto the grass next to Josh, watching him. Josh raised his hands a little, and dandelions stretched up after them, opening.

"When I raise my hands like this, flowers begin to grow and blossom. And when I lower them, the flowers hide in the grass."

Josh lowered his hands, and the flowers closed and went down, back into the grass.

Tyler watched his actions in awe. He didn't believe in magic, but at the moment, he could have sworn that magic was exactly what Josh was doing in front of him.

"That's... that's sick as frick," Tyler whispered.

"Um... what do you mean?" Josh asked, frowning slightly. "Sick means bad, right?"

"No," Tyler laughed. ""Sick as frick" means "very cool."

"Oh, I see," Josh's frown disappeared, and he smiled.

"Where did you learn to do this thing? With the flowers?" Tyler asked, realizing immediately that it was a useless question.

"The forest, of course," Josh made a broad gesture with his hand.

Tyler nodded. One of the things he learned about Josh during the three days they'd known each other was: according to Josh, the forest was the reason for everything to do with him. Anything and everything.

"What kinds of flowers can you grow?" Tyler wondered.

"Any that grow in the forest," Josh said. "Daisies, chamomile, violets, all these".

Josh put his hand onto the grass and whispered something. Then he raised his hand, and Tyler saw that the flower that went after Josh's hand was no longer a dandelion. It was a violet this time. If anyone told Tyler that somebody could do this, he would think he was being told a fairy tale.

Josh stood up and made a semi-circular gesture with his arm. Tyler watched violets pop up as Josh's hand moved, forming a curved line. He was so distracted by all the flowers that he didn't realize Josh was telling him something.

"Um, what did you just say?" Tyler said, shaking his head.

"I said, let's go and get some food," Josh repeated.

"Oh," and then Tyler remembered. "Actually, today I brought some food for you."

"Really? Like, people-made food?" Josh looked at him, his eyes sparkling with anticipation.

"Yeah."

"What is it?"

"Bananas," Tyler whispered, his eyes going huge.

"What?!" Josh looked confused. "I thought you told me to never eat them?"

"I'm kidding," Tyler grinned. "Besides, bananas are not made by people. They grow in forests, but in tropical places, not here."

"Alright," Josh nodded. "Then, what did you bring?"

"You will like this food," Tyler smiled.

He put his backpack onto the ground and took the pack of Oreos out of it.

"See, not a banana," Tyler said, passing the pack to Josh.

The look on Josh's face was indescribable. Tyler watched as his expressions changed from shock to amazement to happiness. Josh's lips stretched in a broad, joyful smile, and his bright green eyes sparkled with glee. Tyler felt his heart skip a beat, though he did not know why. He just couldn't look away from Josh, who was almost shining with happiness. 

"Thank you," Josh said, taking the pack from Tyler's hand.

Tyler shook his head, snapping back to reality.

"Yeah. No worries," he smiled. "They are sold like, in any store."

Josh carefully opened the pack.

"You know, I only ate a couple of them once in my life. And now I have... a whole pack of them?" he said as he took one of the biscuits.

"Enjoy yourself."

Josh took a bite of the cookie and closed his eyes, savouring its taste.

Tyler thought what it would be like if he was given a taco once upon a time, then left without any for several years. And after that, someone would bring him to Taco Bell and tell him to get as many as he wants... Well, he would have the same feelings as Josh had at that moment.

***

They spent the rest of the day together, sitting by the creek and eating Oreos. Josh crushed some of them and fed them to birds, and Tyler did the same. Then they lay on the grass, talking quietly and watching butterflies that came to the flowers that Josh had grown earlier. The butterflies were large and very beautiful. Unlike the butterflies in Tyler's hometown, they weren't afraid of people (him and Josh, at least) and flew very close to the boys without any fear. If Tyler tried, he could have caught a butterfly with his hands. However, he didn't do that in fear of harming the insects.

When the sun began to set, Josh walked to the edge of the forest with Tyler, once again. As they said their goodbyes for that day, Tyler found himself feeling that he could hardly wait for the next day to come.

 


	4. Part 1 Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi :) Thank you, once again, for all the positive feedback ^_^  
> So, this is going to be another fluffy chapter. I hope you like it :)

Days went on, and Tyler spent nearly every one of them in the forest, in the company of Josh and his animal friends. No matter what they did, it was always fun.

Tyler kept discovering new things about his forest friend every day, whether it was another supernatural ability of his or something about his daily life. Tyler found out, for instance, that Josh could control the weather and cause rain, fog, wind, changes in temperature - absolutely anything.

It happened one, once again, scorching hot day when the two of them were lying in the shade of the forest trees.

"Gosh, I wish the weather finally cooled down," Tyler sighed, taking his beanie off and wiping the sweat off his forehead. 

"That can be managed," Josh smiled, seemingly unaffected by the hot weather (but who would be surprised; the forest could never harm him, even in a minor way). He closed his eyes, and his face looked like he was very focused on something. Tyler turned to his side and watched Josh's face, curious.

A minute later, it started to cool down, and Tyler felt a light breeze over his face.

"You can control the weather too, can you?" Tyler smiled. He was no longer so surprised by Josh's abilities, like he was only a week or two ago. He only found them fascinating, but they didn't shock him anymore. It was just something you get quite used to after hanging out with someone like Josh every day. But, _was_ there actually anyone like him?

Josh opened his eyes and smiled gently at Tyler.

"Well, not always. When I experience strong emotions - joy, or fear, or anger, or sadness, - the weather changes by itself, in accordance to what I am feeling."

"That's so sick," Tyler grinned.

"As frick?"

"Yeah. Sick as frick, Josh."

***

Josh was also very interested in the usual (to Tyler), plain human world. He wondered about the way people lived, and things they did every day. And Tyler told him about everything: cities and towns, schools and shops, hobbies, art, music, technology; about different countries, continents, oceans. Josh was very fascinated with these stories. Some of these things were mundane to Tyler, he knew about them, lived in them since his early childhood, but to Josh, they were strange and unusual. He listened to Tyler like a small child listens to a fairy tale about dragons, magic and castles.

Josh really loved music, too, perhaps because Tyler loved it too and shared his feelings for it with Josh. Sometimes he played his favourite songs on his phone for Josh to listen to, and he enjoyed them very much. So, Tyler decided to show him how music can be created.

***

"What is this?" Josh asked, staring at the strange wooden object with some sort of threads tied to it.

"That's an ukulele," Tyler smiled, sitting down onto the grass with the instrument in his hands.

"And... what is it used for?" Josh wondered.

"To play music."

"But I though music comes out from your... phone?" Josh raised an eyebrow, slightly confused.

"Yes. But before it goes to my phone, people actually make it. They play on different instruments, which make beautiful sounds and create music. Ukulele, for example, is a musical instrument."

Josh nodded, smiling.

"So, Josh," Tyler grinned, gently touching the strings with his fingers. "Today I would like to play a song for you. I wrote it myself..."

"You can write songs?!" Josh said with the same shock and amazement that Tyler felt when he found out about Josh's supernatural powers.

"Um... I try, at least," Tyler smiled shyly. "This is called "Ride"."

He ran his hand over the strings and began to play the melody he'd played so many times before - in front of his family, friends, and people from school.

Then, Tyler started to sing.

" _I just wanna stay in the sun where I find_  
_I know it's hard sometimes_  
_Pieces of peace in the sun's peace of mind_  
_I know it's hard sometimes..._ "

He continued singing, and it was hard to do it without breaking the rhythm and not smiling wide, because Josh's face was so distracting to him. Josh looked at Tyler in awe and amazement, as if he had never heard anything quite as beautiful before - and it made Tyler blush, as he tried hard to focus on singing and playing.

A bird landed on Josh's shoulder, looking at his face and then staring at Tyler, not sure whether to be jealous or amazed.

"That was... so beautiful," Josh sighed when Tyler finished the song. "Like... sick as frick."

"Thanks," Tyler smiled, chuckling lightly.

"Can you play it again?" Josh asked, looking at Tyler with his huge green eyes.

As Tyler looked at him, he found that he couldn't say no to him. So, he started again.

***

The next morning, Tyler came to the forest again and started his walk to Josh's clearing. By that time, he knew the way by heart, and could probably even walk there with his eyes closed.

Tyler heard the chirping of birds all around him. It wasn't so surprising to Tyler - they always were around in the morning. It's just that the tune of their chirping sounded strangely familiar to him...

It took Tyler a while to realize that it was the melody to "Ride" that they were chirping.

"Come on, Josh. Seriously?" Tyler thought. He snorted, smiling to himself as he kept walking.

He didn't admit to himself how happy he was that Josh liked his music that much.

***

The two of them just couldn't get enough of each other. It felt so strange to Tyler to realize that he had made such an unlikely friend who had become so close to him in such a short period of time.

However, strange things didn't end here.

Tyler constantly caught himself thinking about Josh. Not only about his past, or his abilities. No, it was about Josh's kindness, his curiosity, the way he was so good with animals. Or, what was more strange still, he thought about Josh's bright smile, about his beautiful deep green eyes that looked like they contained a whole forest of their own inside, about his almost-the-colour-of-the-grass hair. In fact, Tyler thought about Josh way more than he usually thought about anyone at all.

Maybe there was something that he felt towards Josh. Something that he wouldn't admit to himself just yet.


	5. Part 1 Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi :) Thank you for your positive feedback once again. Sorry for taking ages to update again, I had English competitions so I didn't have enough time to write. Now chapter 5 is here, and chapter 6 is soon to come too :)  
> Sorry for any mistakes.

"Where are you going, Tyler?" grandma asked.

Tyler stopped in the doorway. He was just about to slip off to the forest, his red beanie on his head and his backpack on his shoulders.

"To the forest, as usual," he smiled at his grandma.

"Tyler, you spend so much time there," she sighed. "What do you find so interesting in the forest?"

"Josh," Tyler nearly said. However, mentions of Josh might have raised even more questions from grandma. So he quickly made up an answer:

"You know, there is something there that inspires me. It helps me to write songs."

"Alright," she smiled, seemingly satisfied with his answer. "However, can you help me with something before you go out?"

"What is it?" Tyler asked.

"Well, I need to find my old recipe book. It's somewhere in the attic, I think, on the bookshelves. It's difficult for me to climb up the ladder, so, could you please get it for me?"

"Yeah, sure," Tyler smiled. The attic sounded like two things that he enjoyed: darkness and climbing.

He went up the ladder in the corner that led him to a dim room with low ceiling. There was only one small circular window, and it was hard to see anything. Tyler turned on the torch in his phone and took a look around.

There were shelves by the walls containing many various items and lots of dust. On some of the shelves there were books, and on others Tyler saw objects that were old and not currently used. In the corner, he noticed a pile of boxes. Tyler decided to take a look at what was inside of them.

He walked up to the boxes and opened one. It was full of Christmas decorations. Another box held an unassembled Christmas tree. The third on contained a lot of old newspapers, dating back from 2000. Just out of curiosity, Tyler started to skim through them. Nothing was too unusual: election results, weather reports, news about minor crimes and local celebrities...

Then, one of the headlines caught Tyler's eye.

" _PLANE CRASHES NEAR THE FOREST_ "

Tyler took the newspaper in his hands. He looked at the date: 06-18-1999. He wondered if this was the same crash in which Chris Keller, the lonely pilot from the village, was flying the plane.

Tyler began to read the article at the front page:

" _A small plane flying from Florida to Michigan crashed on the eastern border of Ohio tonight. The accident took the lives of fourteen people, out of twenty one that were on the plane. Among them were the Duns, two of the most well-known business people in the eastern states._ "

Then, he noticed something that peaked his interest even further:

" _It is unknown what happened to their six-months-old son, Joshua. His body wasn't found anywhere near the crash, nor was he with the survivors. It is likely that he crawled into the forest, where he was eaten or killed by wild animals._ "

Joshua. _Josh_.

Was it the same Josh that lived in the forest, and was Tyler's best friend?

Tyler re-read the sentences. Crawled into the forest. Likely eaten or killed. Likely.

But what if he survived? And became... well, whatever Josh was now. What was he, anyway? A forest spirit?

The recipe book was completely forgotten by now. Tyler felt that this was the closest he had ever been to discovering where Josh came from. He was not "born in the forest", he was a human boy, Joshua Dun. His parents died in the plane crash, and he, indeed, crawled into the forest. And the forest, for some reason, accepted him and raised him, because there was no way in blue hell for an infant to survive in a wild forest without _something_ helping him.

Tyler rolled up the newspaper, put it in his backpack and climbed back down the ladder.

"Tyler," his grandma sighed.

"Hmm?"

"The recipe book."

"Oh!" Tyler slapped his forehead. "Sorry, I will bring it now."

Tyler felt guilty. He climbed back to get the book, and decided to come back later and look for some more newspapers that could be somehow connected to Josh, his family, or the plane crash.

***

Tyler decided not to tell Josh anything about his research. First of all, the information could hurt Josh. How would it feel to realize that you, at some point of your life, had parents who are now long dead and whom you don't even remember? And secondly, it was very likely that Josh wouldn't believe Tyler on this. "That's not true," he would say, shaking his head. "I was born in the forest, I don't have any parents."

Tyler walked to the forest later that day, as he normally would. However, his mind was so occupied by Josh's backstory that it was a while before Tyler noticed that he was in a new, unfamiliar part of the woods.

Tyler had no idea where he was. The forest seemed darker here, deeper and gloomier. It was unusually quiet. There was a small, but very significant difference here, something that made this part of the forest unlike the area where he usually spent his time with Josh.

Tyler went on, curious and confused. At first, nothing changed around him, until he saw something in front of him that looked like a clearing. But it was nothing like the happy, cheerful place where Josh lived.

The clearing was grey with burnt grass and ashes that covered the ground. There were several trees that were black and burnt down to the core, and they lied on the ground like huge logs. Smoke went up here and there, and Tyler could see a spark or two light up in the grass and then go out immediately. He coughed.

In the middle of the clearing, there was a large wreckage of metal. A wreckage that looked like a... plane. 

A crashed plane.

Something was circling slowly around the wreckage. It looked like a black cloud of very thick smoke. Tyler could see two small red dots on it, located closely to each other. The boy assumed them to be the creature's eyes.

They were staring straight at him.

Tyler felt fear filling his chest. There was something extremely scary about this place; he felt very unsafe and wanted to scream on the top of his lungs, but couldn't.

The creature slowly started moving towards Tyler, gliding through the air. It seemed to Tyler that it was trying to burn him with its glowing red eyes, they were almost touching his soul. Tyler desperately wanted to run away, but he was so terrified that he felt like his feet were stuck to the ground.

"P-please don't hurt me," Tyler whispered.

The creature rushed forward suddenly, and Tyler closed his eyes, mortified. 

Then, he heard a dull thump. Tyler opened his eyes cautiously and saw that the creature was stopped by something. An invisible wall at the edge of the clearing. Apparently, the creature was stuck inside.

The black-whatever let out a loud hiss and floated back to the wreckage again. 

Tyler plopped down onto the ground, his knees weak and his whole body shaking.

"Tyler? What are you doing here?!" a familiar voice said.

The boy turned around and saw Josh. Tyler couldn't believe how glad he was to see him now. Well, he was always happy to see Josh, but right now, it was an extremely huge relief.

"I... got carried away, I think," Tyler smiled weakly. "What is this place, anyway?"

"It's best to stay away from here," Josh said, helping Tyler to get up. "It's the place of Blurryface."

"Blurryface?" Tyler raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. Let's go back to my clearing, I will explain it on the way."

Josh gently took Tyler's hand and led him away from this horrible area and the even more horrible Blurryface.

As they walked through the forest, Josh kept talking.

"A long time ago, a plane crashed here. It broke down and exploded, causing fires in the forest. Fire is extremely dangerous, because it damages trees and other plants without repair, it kills animals, and it's very difficult to stop. Because of this disaster, Blurryface appeared. He creates fire, and makes all living things fear him and panic. Right now he is trapped inside the clearing and cannot get out, but if a single forest fire happens, Blurryface will break free and burn everything down."

"Oh. That sounds like very dark stuff," Tyler sighed.

"That is very dark stuff."

The further they went, the greener, brighter and more cheerful the forest became. It was the very forest Tyler knew, Josh's forest, one of his favourite places in the world. Now free from Blurryface's impact, Tyler realized that Josh was holding his hand. He smiled to himself, feeling something stir in his chest.

The two boys spent the rest of the day as usual, the dark secret of the forest forgotten for now.

 


End file.
